Actress Rachel Brosnahan plays a budding stand-up comic on her new Amazon Studios series, but the Highland Park native said she “would rather die” than get on stage at Second City.

“I can’t claim to have ever done stand-up comedy or have any idea of what it's like to do it,” Brosnahan told the Tribune by phone. “I’m performing in arguably the most controlled environment and real stand-up feels so chaotic to me in a way that I’m sure it's addicting for people who are good at it and enjoy that kind of thing, but, ooof, it’s so brave, I could not, no.”

The Highland Park High School alumna plays a 1950s Jewish housewife who hits the bottle and the comedy stage when her marriage turns sour on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” which is scheduled to premiere Wednesday on Amazon Prime Video.

Brosnahan, 26, said the role of Midge Maisel “felt very familiar to me. I grew up happily immersed in Jewish culture and community.” Though she was raised in a non-religious household, Brosnahan said she went to hundreds of bar and bat mitzvahs, seders and Hanukkah celebrations on the North Shore.

Brosnahan said she also studied the works of Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, Bob Newhart, Don Rickles, Jack Paar and other comics from that era to prepare for the part.

“I wanted to absorb the comedy world by osmosis,” Brosnahan said. “But I really loved kind of throwing myself in head first.”

Amazon has already ordered a second season of the series, written and directed by “Gilmore Girls” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. Brosnahan said she is “on the hunt for something great” before production of Season 2 gets underway.

She had a memorable turn as call girl Rachel Posner on the Netflix series “House of Cards,” which faces an uncertain future since star Kevin Spacey was fired after being accused of sexual misconduct. Brosnahan departed the show at the end of the third season, which premiered in 2015.

“I am thankful to Netflix for taking swift action. I loved my time as a part of that show and the people that I worked with over there, which was (co-star) Michael Kelly and (creator) Beau Willimon,” Brosnahan said.